DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., November 12, 2014 – Seventeen-year-old Lydia Ko already owned the titles of youngest winner and youngest millionaire in LPGA history. She can now check off youngest Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award winner ever, the Tour announced Wednesday. Ko locked up the honor with three events remaining on the LPGA schedule thanks to a season that has so far seen her pile up two victories, two runner-ups, and nine additional top-10 finishes.
“It’s really been a dream rookie season for me,” said Ko. “I learned so much and am glad to have achieved some of my goals along the way. It’s an honor to have my name now etched alongside such amazing players and legends of the game on the list of Rookie of the Year winners.”
Currently ranked No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Ko becomes just the eighth Rookie of the Year winner since the award’s inception in 1962 to win multiple times on Tour in their first season. Mirim Lee made a late charge at the Rolex Rookie of the Year honor with two late season wins, but Ko’s consistency kept her clear of the rest of the rookie class.
Ko entered this week’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational ranked third in the Race to the CME Globe, fourth on the Official Money List ($1,564,962), fourth on the Rolex Player of the Year standings (150), and fifth in scoring average (70.075). She will also have a chance at the CME Group Tour Championship to take home the inaugural season-ending $1 million prize for winning the Race to the CME Globe. Her streak of 40 straight cuts made is the best on Tour. She’s never missed a cut in an LPGA Tour event.
Ko’s name was commonplace among LPGA leaderboards before her rookie season. She won twice as an amateur and was granted LPGA Tour membership for the 2015 season by Commissioner Mike Whan last October.
Rookie jitters proved non-existent for Ko, notching top-10 finishes in her first two tournaments. She won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in her ninth rookie start. For 41 years, Laura Baugh, the 1973 winner, previously held the record of youngest winner at age 18 before Ko snapped it this year.
The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award, named for LPGA Founder and LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Louise Suggs, was established in 1962. Since its inception, nine award winners have become members of the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame: Joanne Carner (1970), Amy Alcott (1975), Nancy Lopez (1978), Beth Daniel (1979), Patty Sheehan (1981), Juli Inkster (1984), Annika Sorenstam (1994), Karrie Webb (1996), and Se Ri Pak (1998).
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